Harry's Love
by JackpotGirl
Summary: A series of oneshots following Harry Potter to the important scenes of his life ... fluffy and lovely, R&R PLEASE! HG, RHr, theWeasleys, NevilleLuna, rated for mild sexual contents DH SPOILERS!


Disclaimer: As we're all very aware ...I do not own Harry Potter...

Summary: This is a series of fluffy-oneshots that mark all important steps in Harry's life inbetween the last chapter "The Flaw In The Plan" of Book 7 and the epilogue, it's obviously a romance and it's strictly CANON, so don't expect any surprises =)

I've just written, what I wanted to read.

These are the first four chapters:

In Her Arms --- set right after the battle, Harry meets Ginny again

Birthday --- Ginny gives Harry something really special for his eighteenth

You? --- Harry's got one important question

4.I do --- Ginny's got one important answer

They are soon to be followed with meore episodes of the children, so brace yourself for even more fluff and if you enjoyed it, please rate and leave a comment, thanks!

Harry's Love

Chapter One

Back In Her Arms

Harry Potter wanted nothing more but to sleep as he left the headmaster's office after ensuring the handling of the deathly hallows by talking to Albus Dumbledore's portrait, about whom he had found out so many things that both disturbed him and helped him to understand his departed mentor.

Taking the first few steps down the moving stairs, he could almost feel his comfortable Gryffindor-tower bed, but there was something else he needed to do, before he could lay himself to his earned rest.

He left his friends Ron and Hermione, which seemed to have become quite private again, behind and made his way through the empty castle. As he pulled the Invisibility cloak over his head, he heard the cries of grief along with the jubilees of his fellow students, their families and ghosts, house elves and whoever was gathered in the Great Hall now that the terrifying battle was won, that had cost so many lives. Finally it was over. It was the first time he had the clarity and composure to form this into words inside of his head and it felt like the biggest burden, that made him weaker every step on the way and that he had carried with him his entire life was being lifted carefully and softly of his shoulders. He passed the Great Hall but hurried to the grounds so that no one would get in his way. There would be time for talking to all the others, thanking them for their commitment, their strength, their faith and all the great things everyone had done with taking the greatest risks and suffering the most terrible losses, but that time was not now.

With slow steps he put his foot on the grass beside the entrance portal of the Hogwarts castle, that still throned over the silky green hills, surrounded by the silent Forbidden Forest and Harry felt the first warm sunlight of the surreal summery beautiful day through the cloak upon his cheeks. The weather seemed to have changed the very second Voldemort died. Probably the Dementors had been forced back to Azkaban and the mysterious, mood-affecting grey fog had disappeared along with them. He had a strong feeling where he was supposed to be going and followed this feeling trustingly.

The time he walked along the stony way towards the woods, thinking it would be his last walk, earlier that night, seemed weeks or years away. He did not die. He survived. Again. It was the biggest miracle that he conquered death a very other time and was vibrant, breathing and walking in his full size with almost no injuries. Starring straight into the sun in front of him he took a deep breath and felt life flooding him, washing all over his body and made him smile slightly. He made it through, but he never would've if it wasn't for the ones that gave their lives for his, he thought with his deep grief for his friends coming back slowly.

If he had been there, if he had been paying more attention, he could've unarmed the Death Eater that killed Fred, he could've kept Tonks from running to Remus saving and Teddy from becoming an orphan like he, Harry himself was.

As he got closer to the great lake, he thought about little Ted and how he would be his only family despite his grandmother, like Sirius had been to him. He felt utterly reminded of Neville's Grandmother and wondered if she had made it through, but he didn't remember to have spotted her weird huge hat between the dead bodies in the hall. She had been really brave - truly Neville Longbottom's Granny, he thought with enormous pride of his friend, who had stepped up to Voldemort in danger of his life, when everything seemed lost, doing exactly what Harry had pleased him to do and making it possible for him to finally end Voldemort.

He made a couple more steps and he could hear the water hitting the ground and in a sudden flash of light and happiness, as it seemed, he saw her.

He had somehow known he would find her right at this spot. She must've left the hall to be alone, maybe even hoping that he would come to look for her, maybe thinking that he would come to the conclusion that she would be here, where they had spent the most beautiful hours together on very few sunlit days at the lake. She looked over to the hills and her long fiery hair blew a little in the soft wind, she must've been the most beautiful girl in the world.

When he stepped towards her, a little stick of wood broke under the pressure of Harry's foot, Ginny noticed the presence of someone else and turned around.

She seemed confused and even a little scared and looked around quiet and rapidly - that was when Harry remembered that he still had the cloak on.

With a sudden move he ripped it from his head and dropped it on the grass carelessly. Ginny turned back around to him and as their eyes met, green and brown.

Harry wanted nothing but to tell her how he had missed her on his journey, his hunt.

She looked at him, with widened and tear-swollen eyes both proud and sad at the same time. She opened her mouth to say something but Harry cut her off by running to her, taking her into his embrace. He couldn't take her looking so proud of him in a way, as he was originally responsible for her brother's death.

"I'm so sorry, Ginny. I...Fred...I'm so sorry", he mumbled into her hair, its flowery sent filling his nostrils. She broke free a little from his grip and looked up to him, with all her strength and beauty.

"He wouldn't want us to cry about him. You know Fred, he would want us to celebrate his heroism, wouldn't he?" she said and tried a smile but a tear went down her freckled cheek.

Harry was out of words and tightened his hug again, kissing her forehead.

"Harry", Ginny said quietly, "You saved us all, maybe even the whole entire world.

D 'you know that?"

"I thought I couldn't. I was so afraid. I was scared to death" And he grinned bitterly about that, because -originally- in the end he had never been supposed to live anymore. Ginny seemed irritated though.

"What's so funny?"

He let go of her and looked down, thinking that it would be okay now, it was over, he could tell her now, tell her everything he never told her.

Looking straight into her eyes, the words spilled out of his mouth and he told her the whole story; the Horkruxes, the journey with Ron and Hermione to find and destroy them, what Snape had done, his bond to Voldemort and Dumbledore's ultimate plan that was supposed to have him giving in to an unbeatable death.

When he finally finished, she seemed stunned for somewhat of two seconds and then she gave him that blazing look he loved so much about her, she took a couple steps towards him and said in a clear and loud voice:

"I love you, Harry Potter"

Suddenly Harry felt like soaring three feet above the ground, he seemed to have lost half of his weight and a warmth that had nothing to do with the fully risen sun above their heads, drowned his insides, that trembled slightly as she got closer to him. Nothing in the world could ever feel better than this, hearing 'I love you' from the person that had giving him all his strength in the moment he faced death. He reminisced the second the killing curse had hit his chest and all he saw and sensed was her face and sinking into her kiss. Now, in a weird _Déja Vu_, their lips met and it felt like he was wrapped in a blanket of complete happiness and then relief washed over him.

The sweetest kind of awakening made him realize that he was free, that nothing could ever be harder and more painful to finish but that it was overall ended. That the path that was laid out for him when he was only an innocent toddler, was walked.

And Ron and Hermione were still alive and together, finally he was right back in Ginny's arms, where he belonged and there were no more reasons to break away from her or tell her off, no more reason to hold it back.

They were kissing for -as it seemed- eternity and as he lay her softly down on the grass and she rolled herself on top of him, he felt something hot on his face as Ginny stopped kissing him all of the sudden.

"You're crying...", she said in an odd voice.

She lay above him and glanced down into his eyes.

"I love you, Ginevra Weasley", he said with a sort of squeaky tone. A moment she looked indescribably joyous and then giggled a bit then bent over him again to kiss him more forcefully, in a way that made Harry feel sensations he had never felt before.

When she stopped again, he was craving for more, but she only glided down from his body and lay beside him on the ground, looking to the cloudless sky. "I'm glad you told me all of this", she said as she nestled herself into his open arms and with the sweetest taste in his mouth, Harry fell to his desired and well deserved sleep.

Chapter Two

Happy Birthday

Harry Potter blinked tiredly and when he finally opened his eyes, light stroke him and made him wipe the sleep away from them.

The little room was flooded with sunlight and he looked over the little shelf, the closet and the desk. It was the small but bright room in the burrow, that used to be Fred's.

Mrs. Weasley had decided to give Harry the room to recover and live with the Weasley's until they'd fixed Grimmauld Place Number 12, so that Harry could move in there. He had been with them for four weeks now and time had been kind. It made the bruises fade and helped making peace with the losses and the regrets that plagued him after that final battle with the Dark Lord.

Yet in the burrow, peace was hard to be made with Fred's death. Mrs Weasley had random mood changes, but no one could blame her. Ginny had been unusually silent and Ron was clearly suppressing his sorrow. Hermione came back two days ago, along with her parents, their memories half recovered already.

Mrs Weasley had offered them all to stay for a while, to have something to do to keep her distracted, Harry estimated. He wished there was something to do for her - to help her with the pain of losing a child - but he didn't know what. Since they first met she was - and had been ever since, so friendly, and so kind, even loving him like a mother would love a son.

"Harry, dear", she had said, once they had a minute alone a couple days after the battle, her voice still raspy from crying and screaming, as Harry supposed, "Harry, please stay with us for a while. Ron and Ginny will need your company a lot, and so will I… so will the whole family. I know it's pathetic to demand something of you, after _all_ you have donefor all of us. But...I ask you as I would ask a child of mine..." Her voice broke as she formed the words 'child of mine'. The pain yelling from her eyes, that where so much like Ginny's, burned his insides like acid.

With a ridiculous attempt to make it all go away, Harry gave her the tightest hug he could manage around now heavily sobbing, round Mrs Weasley.

"Of course, of course I'm coming with you", Harry whispered comfortingly.

Even if he had wanted to have some days of peace, alone, he could've never said _'no'_ to her plea. He could've never walked out on the family that had become closer to him than any other person in the world - apart from Sirius ... and Dumbledore. But after all he didn't really have anywhere to go and the burrow was more or less his home anyway.

Harry had already spent four weeks with the Weasleys in which everything outside the family seemed to have happened in _Fast-Forward-Mode_.

Kingsley Shaklebolt was now officially the new Minister of Magic, Professor McGonagal became headmistress of Hogwarts, Snape had been buried on the school grounds near Dumbledore, Fred in the Weasley mausoleum.

The rest of Tom Riddles torn body was locked up in a box of magical steel and stone of few inches thickness in the deepest cave in the highest mountain, as if people where afraid, his spirit could crawl out of it and haunt them.

But he wouldn't. Voldemort would never come back. Harry knew it. He felt it, for he had never felt as light and free as in these few weeks.

Free to cry, to grieve, to talk, to listen, to run, to smile, to learn to laugh again, fuss around with his best mate, discuss with Hermione and to kiss Ginny without any sense of guilt - except of the worries of rippled and dry lips.

As for the wizarding world, Harry Potter was the heroic idol figure of a new ideology of a peaceful community of wizards and alike on the values of tolerance, safety and truth. Obviously the truth was not so well featured in the latest _Prophets_, which said "the boy who lived" himself would sooner or later become Minister of Magic or that Harry was proved to be immortal. Harry couldn't really blame them though, because he had indeed come back from the dead. Not that they would ever know that.

As he rubbed the last bit of sleep off his eyes, he kicked his feet free from the blanket. He stepped out of bed and felt the weirdly shaped carpet under his toes and stretched, yawning deeply.

As he stepped out of his room and got down the stairs, he passed Ginny's closed bedroom door and kept himself from sneaking in, he reached the living room that was full of people.

"G'morning", he greeted looking at the group of red heads and not so red heads, gathered around the fire place.

"Good morning, Harry", Mr Weasley said smiling slightly. It was the first time Harry had seen him smile, really smile instead of some sort of forced grimace that looked more as he was in pain.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger have cared to join us on a little trip to Diagon Alley. To regain full memory of the wizarding world, you know. Molly and I are going to assist Hermione here with that a little", and looking down on her he added his head shaking, "Quite powerful magic this girl did there, didn't she?" He patted Hermione's shoulder, who looked radiant and happy to have her parents back at her side.

Ron stood beside him and talked to a woman that had a painful resemblance to Bellatrix Lestrange; her sister Andromeda Tonks, that carried Teddy Lupin, the son of her dead daughter and her dead son in law. The little baby was focussing the top of George's wand, spilled little purple and yellow sparkles.

Harry looked a little surprised at the constellation in front of him and as Ron caught his expression, he took the word: "George and I are going to continue on the work in number 12, Bills already there- but we needed a Black to renew the protection charms and all that stuff...", he said gesturing towards the elder woman and the chuckling baby in her arms.

"So let's get going, everybody", Mr. Weasley said and handed Ron the flewpowder.

One after the other disappeared in green sparks of magical fire light.

As Hermione got into the flames with her parents, she mouthed something that looked like "Don't be-", but she was gone before Harry could make out, _what_ he shouldn't be.

Mr. Weasley had just vanished last before Mrs. Weasley, as she turned around and walked up to him. She took his head into both hands and placed a wet smooch on his left cheek and said a little teary: "Have a wonderful day, son."

"Thanks, Mrs Weasley", Harry said slightly irritated.

"Harry, I think it's time that you can feel free to call me Molly".

Harry felt warmed up inside, as he smiled and was once again thankful for this amazing woman who had been as good as his mother for the past seven years… that took him in her family regardless what it took and what it had cost.

"Thank you, Molly", he said brightly releasing her to the fire place.

When the flickering sparks had faded the burrow was all silent suddenly. Extremely irritated Harry looked around the room as if had never seen it before. Actually he hadn't seen it so empty in a long time. Mrs. Weasley had visitors coming around to keep her busy or to show Harry around because they wouldn't leave her alone before they didn't get a glimpse on him, shake hands and say various words of "Thank you"'s and "Very well done"'s.

A sound of a clearing throat made him turn around to the staircase.

"Sure", it slipped out of him. He had known that there had been someone missing, "you did that. You sent them out the house, you arranged that, didn't you?"

Of course, why else would every Weasley -and Granger- have mysteriously some business to do outside the house?

"Well spotted, Mr Potter", Ginny Weasley said and smiled, gesturing him to come up to her and in a flush of excitement, Harry took two steps at once and came to stand just a few inches away from her.

"Happy Birthday, happy eighteenth", she said melodically.

"Oh", said Harry, who suddenly remembered that it was indeed his birthday. He had simply forgotten it over all the things that happened lately, "oh, thanks... yeah".

"Forgotten, didn't you?" she asked with a cute little chuckle that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"Well...", he replied.

"Anyway, would you please follow me?" she said, taking his hand and pulling him towards her room.

Harry got a little nervous, but cast the building fantasy of an empty house and Ginny and him alone in her room and the possibilities of that situation out of his blooming mind -with great effort.

The room was still tiny and still filled with light, but the Quidditch poster had been replaced with an obviously hand-painted picture of six wizards and witches. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna and himself where smiling down at them from the wall. Ron was widely gesturing towards Neville, Luna and Hermione talking laughing and Ginny and Harry nestled together looking peacefully. The frame of the portrait was covered with the word '_friends_ _forever_' in Luna's handwriting.

"She gave it to me for Christmas. She's great ... Luna", Ginny said looking proudly at the painting.

"Come on", she said and pushed him to the desk, that was covered with little and not so little boxes.

Ginny handed him one of them, that was wrapped in an odd-looking leather kind of fabric that seemed to change colours every few seconds.

"This one's from Luna" -From whom else could it have been?

Harry carefully removed the "skin" from the present and opened the little box. Inside lay a wristband of orange radishes (that was said to be a talisman to secure male potence) and Harry burst out laughing.

Mrs Weasley had given him a set of family inherited porcelain for his own household, Mr Weasley's present was, to Harry's confusion, a huge stovepipe hat, that shrunk down to the perfect size for his head once he had put it on.

Neville's present was a box of various plants with descriptions of using and effects. Harry smiled and thought that he should go see Neville any time soon. Ron's present was a miniature snitch that made funny comments once touched and Hermione's gift was an old book with Muggle fairytales that said on the first page in her handwriting:

'_For now, for later, to be treasured forever! _

_Your friend Hermione _

_PS:_ _Don't be afraid_ _of what's to come_"

"Afraid? What's to come?", Harry asked a little concerned.

Ginny who had been watching him silent, only handling him the boxes, giggled now.

"Oh...I don't know...maybe the future...near or far..._my _present maybe...who knows", she said mystifyingly and made a riddle-like face.

And before he even knew what was happening, Harry was drenched in a kiss. He opened his lips slightly and allowed Ginny's tongue to twirl around his, that made everything tingle -from his mouth to tip of his feet.

His girlfriend pushed him towards her bed and sat on his lap, not pausing with the kisses. Harry felt every string of every muscle in his body strain and a sweet shiver went down his back when Ginny reached under his shirt to pull it over his head. One moment she looked at him beaming, then kissed his forehead and he felt goosebumps all over him.

In his mind, his thoughts swirled in a chaotic vortex. Her kisses didn't feel as usual, they felt more sincere, harder than before and she was taking more of a lead than she used to. What if that was it now?

Sure they did snog around quiet heavily but nothing had felt like this before, ever.

Should she really be planning on going further? It clearly seemed so.

Harry tried to speak, but failed in the attempt as he could only gasp, when Ginny pushed him back and pulled him on top of her tiny and beating body, taking off his glasses and throwing them off the bed for good.

He felt her fitting under him perfectly, no gap between their bodies as they sank into a deep kiss again. What if he had no idea what to do? What if she expected things? But which things?

Suddenly he wondered in a rush of jealousy if she had ever been this far with Michael or Dean. But knowing if so would not help him now. Not at all. If she would be disappointed, if he did hurt her.

How the hell was he supposed to know what to do. Nobody had ever taught him that. All he knew about girls he knew from her, and he knew so little.

One thing he did knew, though. Slowly and shaking his hand made its way into her hair and he played with it a little before he broke the kiss and placed little baby kisses on her cheek all the way down to her neck, were he paused and kissed again, paused and started to kiss again.

Ginny's body gave the awaited response and tensed under his, her breathing becoming a little deeper and slightly harder. Her hands reached for her t-shirt, she pulled over her head with a bit of effort, for Harry had to move his own body up before she could.

For a blink of an eye that seemed like eternity he got a glimpse of her face, reddened, and shining like bright light, so beautiful with a little smile playing around her lips. He just had to kiss her again and now he would kiss her in a way that she would be glad she was already lying, he thought, he would pay her back.

She made a sound that was more of a suppressed moan and broke the kiss, looking up to him, breathlessly.

"Ginny", Harry mumbled, breathing heavily himself, very well aware of his own body reactions into her ear, "Ginny, are you sure you want to do this?"

He felt her shiver, obviously she hadn't expected him to be asking this.

She bit her lip and canted her head on the mattress.

"I do. I'm ready", and with a rapid move she lay her hand on his neck and pulled his head down to hers and whispered into his ear more seductive and sexy than Harry ever had heard a girl speak, "I'm not letting you get away with doing _this_ to me and then stop"

He didn't even have time to hide his - not intentioned - odd looking lust-filled face for she'd already lifted herself to discard the now unnecessary jeans, Harry making quick work of his own, feeling as he should do the same... After all, the lead _was_ hers and he had to be even with her.

"Ginny..." Harry breathed, tender lips soughing out those of his lover's, before all notion of time, place and reality became just a dispensable idea, locked somewhere in the furthest corner of his mind.

He felt her little hand running down his back and shivered, still he tried to gain enough self control to make Ginny enjoy it as well, but it was as hard as fighting the dementors influence on the mood; it was just not fighting despair and hopelessness, it was fighting pleasure.

Mind taking pleasure that made it almost impossible for Harry to even navigate his own hands to touch Ginny smoothly other than just grabbing her body tighter to his, lifting her up from the mattress, and couldn't even manage a proper kiss anymore. His mouth just stayed open in soundless moans and gasps, still trying to taste every bit of her mouth, her neck, inhaling her scent like an addict.

Everything blurred after that... Senses were pushed into overdrive and all thoughts were banished from his mind as most of his blood migrated south, all vocabulary turning to primal sounds of joy and ecstasy.

"Harry...", Ginny's voice was barely audible, so tiny and sweet that it was like warm honey dripping over Harry's chest, "don't stop...juz don ... ", her words drowned in a louder moan that she hadn't been able to hold back anymore. Harry paused for a second, long enough to focus on his hands slowly going down Ginny's upper body, making her tighten her hands grip to his neck.

Thoughts of not knowing what to do flew out the window as Harry and Ginny both allowed themselves to be guided by instincts. She wrenched around him and clung to him and as he felt her warm naked body pushing against his, he felt he was going to explode.

"You're killing me...", he rustled.

The air seemed to tense around them as everything seemed to be gone but the two of them, the rooms shapes became schemes, the breathing got deeper and harder. And in a silent agreement they both gave in and for a beautifully and unforgettably moment in time, two became one.

A couple seconds where they shared everything, every heartbeat and every breath.

Harry knew that was how he wanted to feel forever. That Ginny was fully and purely his and he was hers with every piece of his sweating, hot body. She was the only real thing, _his_ Ginny, his friend, his companion, his lover, his world.

The only girl who would have waited years and years, just looking at him from a distance, waiting that the silly boy would finally come to see that it had been her he is destined for. And how silly had he been, how blind throughout all those years. Only she who could remain faithful to him and his ideas during the Horkrux-hunt, when he left her without any proper information or goodbye.

She was so strong and after all, she was the best human being he knew. He had met her when she was just a child, he had saved her life once but after all it had been her who had done all the saving. And he again thought of seeing her face in the moment of dying.

She was what got him through. If he had really died, her sweet face would've been the imagine he took to eternity.

He felt like flying. But nothing like flying on a broomstick, this was way better than that.

He was on highspeed and incredibly loosen and relaxed at the same time, and all his senses where with her. That's how it was supposed to be. That was fate.

As they both gasped one last time and came to rest next to each other, he gulped and chuckled and turned to her. He couldn't see her sharply and reached for his glasses on the floor. As he had them back on, he suddenly became aware, that they were both naked on her bed in her bright small bedroom, what seemed unbelievably surreal. But he didn't feel ashamed. Not next to her. Not looking at the girl he loved, who looked exhausted but calm and more beautiful than ever.

"Did I hurt you?" Harry couldn't stop the stupid question but he still needed to make sure.

Ginny smiled slightly and robbed towards him a little.

"It hurt a bit, but I think it hurts always the first time around", suddenly she seemed a little nervous.

He had been her first as she had been his. Harry felt relieved but not really surprised as he couldn't have believed that she would have given this away to one of the others, when she had been loving him all along. A slight feeling of pride filled Harry up and once again, he felt stupid for not appreciating her love and patience for nearly four and a half years.

"Thanks for not asking 'How was I?'", she said with a little giggle impersonating Harry when he was being stupid.

"Oh come on, no one in this world would ask that, seriously...", Harry supposed and rolled his eyes, thanking his own sense of taste for not giving in to the voice inside his head, that indeed wanted to know if she'd liked it.

"You were good though, as far as I can say", Ginny said and twinkled.

She just knew him too well, he thought, feeling his cheeks flush a little.

When she lay his head upon his chest, he used his free hand to pull the blanket over their lower bodies.

"I can feel your heartbeat", she said softly and after a while she added, "Wasn't too scary for you, the whole thing, was it?"

Harry shook his head a little, but he knew that she was aware of the lie. It had been scary as hell but Ginny made it seem not so complicated and complex, she made all the thinking seem unnecessary.

That was another amazing thing to her. She loved him no matter what. No matter how stupid the things were he had said to her or how ridiculous he could be, she never made him feel like an idiot. She would've been okay with whatever that would've happened. And if something would've gone wrong and Harry would've messed up everything, she wouldn't have been mad at him. She might've been a little sad, but never disappointed.

And with the deep trust in her love in his heart, everything that was to come would be a lot easier for Harry. He felt like he could do anything -as long as she was there with him.

Chapter Three

Will You?

Harry Potter stepped into the fireplace of Grimmauld Place Number 12 and threw a look around his kitchen. Through the open door that led to the corridor, the last sunrays as it seemed, submerged the small room in orange and yellow light, that no one who ever saw Number Twelve's kitchen in the days of _The Order_ would have believed it to be the same room. It looked peaceful, bright and clean, very unlike of the old appearance of that space.

The whole house had changed from the dark and mysterious, really unpleasant place, into a house that was actually comfortable to live in. Harry couldn't have thanked the Weasley's and Andromeda Tonks enough for cleaning the house of all the mess, the curses and the dark magic which had always laid on it like a deep black shadow that seemed to have swallowed all brightness and refused to set it free.

Now it seemed like a totally different house, as if no evil had ever seen its inside and it was clean and nice and he loved to live there, although it really was too big for one person and he sometimes felt quite lost and too small for all the space.

Not even now, in the last days of summer, the house seemed to shine from inside.

Still mostly because it was finally inhabited. With Harry moving in and -thanks to Andromeda- Mrs Black moving out, life came back to the ancient house of the Blacks.

As if the house tried to catch the last sunshine of the last week of summer, it sucked in the light from outside and took it to its share for rainy days.

Harry took the flewpowder into his fist and focussed all his thoughts on his destination. He opened his mouth and -"Damn"

In a rush of ease, glad that he remembered, before he had left and stuffing the flew powder into the pockets of his jeans, he ran up the stairs.

He was passing Sirius' room, which he now saw as a memorial for his parents, Remus Lupin and his godfather and where he spent numerous hours reading Sirius' letters, books and notes, trying not to forget the little things about him.

After all, he was the only proper family he had memories of and he did not want to loose any of them.

Passing another bedroom, that stood empty, he reached the one he chose to be his, the biggest of the three, and entered. Beside the big wooden bed, on a bedside table, there was it.

A little black case stood there, quite inconspicuous, but it was very important to Harry, very important for the rest of his life.

He hurried down the stairs again and jumped right to his fireplace and used the flew powder to travel to his second favourite place in the world.

When the last green sparks faded in front of Harry's eyes, his vision slowly came back to him and the shades of the burrow became clearer.

His stomach rumbled with excitement and happiness as he stepped into the living room and he blinked into the golden rays of light that shone on his cheeks from the window.

He was always deeply confident, when he was at the Burrow for it had been most like a home to him right after Hogwarts.

The warmth that welcomed him every time he entered the house was indescribable. It made him feel extremely fortuned and thankful to really have people to come home to.

"Harry", he heard a voice behind his back and turned around to see Ron Weasley's delighted face as he came down the stairs. Ron was still thin and his hair was shining golden in the late summer sun, but the look on his face had changed slightly. From the rascally boyish face to one more certain and more self-confident. But apart from that nothing had changed about Ronald, he was still wimpy, funny and the best friend Harry ever had.

"Hey mate", Harry answered and patted his friends back.

"How are the books", Ron asked with a grin, talking about Harry's long time job at Flourish and Blotts, which he was working on for two years now, since he had started living in London after he turned eighteen.

"Haven't changed since yesterday. How are the pranks?", Harry grinned back and thought about the alarming parallel between his and Ron's choice of jobs -he worked at a bookstore in Diagon Alley, Ron worked in Georges store in Diagon Alley, both still unsure what the wanted to do with their future.

"Stop gushing boys", a familiar voice said from the kitchen. A second later Hermione Granger came up to them with a plate full of little sandwiches in hands.

"Hi, Harry", she smiled, looking up to him, "Did you finally find the time to read _Hogwarts - A History_?"

"Mione, d'you really think just because he hasn't seen you for two weeks, he would be bored enough to read _A history_? Now, come on..." Ron said and Hermione chuckled.

Harry saw her less than Ron, because she was a full time medicine student at St. Mungo's. Unlike him and his best mate, she had known almost the day she returned with her parents from Australia, what she planned to do with her life.

She finished her N.E.W.T.s with Ginny and Luna and then started her studies to become a magical doctor. But as if that wasn't enough to show Harry how clueless and pointless his search for a future career was, she had even founded an own organisation for House-elves and Magical Beings Rights, called H.E.M.B.R.O., which even had great success, integrating house-elves, centaurs and others alike into the wizarding community.

Harry himself, just like his best friend, had never cared to finish his last year at Hogwarts.

Ron being ensured by George that one could have a career without a proper graduation and Harry himself had been ensured by various people (who all offered him numerous jobs), that he could do any job he wanted, even be a teacher at Hogwarts or anything else he just imagined. The thing was only that he hadn't really an imagination.

Hermione and Ron where back at teasing each other, what Harry always tried to ignore and feel less left out, but he could not blame them, they were happily together and they ought to be.

He wouldn't make them feel guilty for excluding him sometimes. Not that he would want to be included, when they where alone, doing whatever they where doing. He pulled away and tried to cast any images aside when a beautiful distraction gladly interrupted his thinking.

Small and warm arms were slung around his chest from behind and a flowery scent filled the air around Harry.

"Hey stranger", Ginny's voice said beside his ear.

He smoothly turned her around and looked down at her.

"Hey", he whispered, bowed down and kissed her softly.

When they broke apart she smiled, turned and ran out to the garden, gesturing him to follow.

"Get going you lot", her voice yelled from outside.

There was nothing he rather did, one last time he turned around to see if Hermione and Ron where through with their private moment (which they weren't) then reached to his jeans pocket and felt the silky fabric of the little box in it and stepped out of the door into the yard with a comfortable smile on his lips.

Today was perfect, the perfect day to do what he had planned to do for so long.

Everyone was there, right in the wild and green yard, Mr Weasley sitting on his chair talking to George, Mrs Weasley setting the table, Bill and Fleur sitting opposite her laughing about something that happened nearby; Andromeda tried to catch two year old Teddy Lupin, Harry's godson, who was running around a tree, his hair colour constantly changing. But Ginny was nowhere to be seen. It was Sunday and their all two to three monthly family meeting with barbecue and butterbeer.

Harry, still looking at the little boy, wondered how Ginny would react, when he set his plan into action. He hoped that he wouldn't be messing it up with mumbling or something.

A bat on his shoulder ended his trail of thoughts, Ron had stepped behind him, hand in hand with Hermione.

"Let's get settled, shall we?" she said and pushed the boys towards the table.

The air was warm and a soft breeze blew over their heads through the already partly red and yellow leaves of the trees beside the house.

Harry slipped into a chair at the end of the large table and looked over the plates and tablets stuffed with food and pudding, suddenly very hungry.

"Don't you start without us", said a girl's voice loudly from around the corner of the house. No second later a radiant Ginny walked towards the table followed by two familiar faces.

"Luna", said Hermione happily and jumped up from her seat to give the small blonde a hug, whose watery and huge eyes ran over the place and fixed Harry for a second.

"Hey Neville", Ron shock hands with the tall sloppy guy, who one could hardly tell to be Neville Longbottom.

All his features had matured, he grew at least five inches since Harry had seen him last and his face was more manly than anyone would ever thought Neville would turn out to be.

Luna though looked as if no day had past, yet her choice of clothes had become more absurd throughout those two years. She wore an old red bleached out skirt, a huge yellow hat and a west out of a glimmering silverish leather.

"Harry, how are you?" Neville asked, sitting down beside him.

"All's well...you?" he was glad to see him, it had been quiet a long time and he was happy to see him looking so well and confident.

"Studying goes great, they say I can start teaching Herbology in two and a half years at Hogwarts", his eyes were shining brighter than Luna's clothes.

"Congratulations...I'm...well, I'm still working at Flourish and Blotts", Harry said a little uneasy again, because everybody else seemed to have a solid plan for their future except of him. He hadn't even lost the focus on a job over the last years like some that got distracted by whatever, he just never really had it.

Sure, he always had wanted to be an Auror, but he wasn't that sure about working at the ministry and he didn't want to outstand Ginny, who was applying for training, knowing that if he showed interest in a place in the training academy he might fill a place that could've been Ginny's.

Anyhow, Ginny would make a better Auror than he could ever be. She was calmer than him and more patient and she was the good in person. No one could fight Dark Magic better than a woman like her, who was pure hearted and pure love.

"Harry", her soft tone made him turn around rapidly as she sank into the free chair beside on his left, "you mind if I sit here?"

"Nah...I think that's okay", he smiled at the red-head.

"Why didn't you come around on Thursday?"

"Kreacher had already made dinner and I didn't want to disappoint him, he learned this new French cuisine thing in Hermione's cooking curse for house-elves and did a creme brulee..."

Ginny burst out laughing: "Okay, I take that as an apology, but you still could've invited me around...unless Kreacher had planned one romantic candlelight dinner for you two only."

"Ahh, well...", Harry grinned back at his girlfriend.

"Do you think we can get a little private time tonight?" she asked seductively.

Their relationship had been the best thing Harry had ever experienced yet.

After his eighteenth birthday, she had gone back to finish school with Hermione and he had missed her badly, as she only came home for Christmas. But when she returned, the sweetest months followed; they spent almost every day with each other, talking, laughing and finding their way into normality.

Since then nothing had changed about Harry's feelings for her, he was still treasuring every minute, the hairs on his arms still went up, when she touched him and whispered in his ear. And as the two years had passed, Ginny had become even more beautiful.

She sat beside him with her fiery hair in a ponytail, shorts and a green shirt that said 'Hollyhead Harpies' and smiled and laughed and looked the best.

Kissing her cheek, Harry inhaled her scent and felt the luckiest he could, having Ginny Weasley as his girl.

As everyone got settled at the table, the noise increased as they all started chatting, Luna reached over the table and grabbed Harry's hand.

"When are you going to do it?" she asked.

"Do what?", Harry was slightly irritated.

"What you are planning to do, a blind and deaf could smell what you're up to..." she said, glancing at him knowingly.

Harry looked at her, her huge eyes focussing him.

"I...um, soon", he finally stuttered.

It was meant to be a surprise...a big never expected surprise, but if she knew, maybe Ginny knew to, or Ron.

He still wasn't sure, what Ron would say after all. He had been highly supportive but every now and then he seemed tense around him, mostly when he and Ginny had an argument, what did happen sometimes with both their temperaments.

Still if anyone could guess what he was planning to do, he should do it soon.

"Excuse me", he said and got up from his chair rapidly, almost making it fall to the ground. Rushing nervousness spread out inside his stomach and suddenly he felt like vomiting.

He was sure about it, why was he so scared all of the sudden then, he asked himself angrily. Making his way to the toilet, his steps fastened.

He locked the door behind him and left himself glide down the wall and sat down on the cold floor.

Unable to think straight he sat there, wondering why the hell, it took him so much now to do this, why he was so afraid and what he was afraid of.

What was up with him? He fought a soccer team of Dementors in third grade and now he couldn't-

A loud BANG ended his thinking.

"Harry, can I come in", a female voice said.

"Hermione", Harry said surprised and unlocked the door and relocked it after she entered.

"What's up with you? You looked like something hit you before you went in here", she said worryingly.

"I ...", Harry didn't know how to answer, but to reach for his pants and take out the little box out his pants.

He heard Hermione breathing in quiet forcefully with a lot of air, as she took it out of his grasp. She let the top flip off and stared at the inside for a while.

"Oh my god, Harry, you are going to ask her to marry you, won't you?" Hermione asked the unnecessary question.

Harry looked at the small silver ring with the blue stone and looked up to his friend.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous now, I don't want to shy back. I love her, it's just..."

"Maybe you rushed things?" Hermione approached, but looking slightly angry at the same time.

"No, no...I know I want to marry Ginny, I want to be with her forever, but we're young, maybe she doesn't want to marry me now. She's only nineteen..."

"Harry, you don't really think Ginny could reject? She loves you more than anything, she always did. And you above all people should be aware of that. Why do you mistrust her?"

"I don't mistrust her, I just...-"

"No! You're going to do this right...You bloody guys are all the same"

"Hermione?" Harry slowly began to doubt her behaviour was all about him and Ginny.

"It's that...I...It's just that I found something quiet alike this ring here in Ron's jacket...Five weeks ago. So either he has another girl to ask to be his wife or he hasn't got the guts to ask me."

"Oh", Ron hadn't told him a word about that. Well, he hadn't told him about asking Ginny as well.

"It's okay, but maybe he will ask me", Hermione said quietly looking at her hands. "Maybe he will if you go first and ask Ginny. Please do this now. You know you want to...and you would help...well...me."

Harry looked at her and it gave him confidence, what time could be better for a proposal, all their friends where there, her parents, it was the perfect time.

When Harry came back to the table, dinner was already going. Everyone was having a good time and Harry tried his best to loosen up a bit and when it came to Mrs Weasley's pudding, he knew, that it was time.

"Chmchm", he cleared his throat, barely audible and felt himself utterly remembered of Professor Umbridge (who know was imprisoned for her questionable methods in the Ministry Department of Muggle Activities) and tried to make people listen. No one obviously did. Ginny probably didn't even hear him.

But Hermione saw him. His friend had always noticed any half-hearted attempts to get his things on, when he wasn't really fully sure they would go well.

"Sorry...", she said loudly against the summing noise of voices and laughter, "Sorry...SORRY"

There was silence. Hermione pulled a satisfied grimace and looked around at the faces, which Harry noticed to be anxious to find out, what her outburst had been about.

"I think Harry", she said, putting much emphasis on his name, pointing in his direction, what had everybody turn around and staring at him, "Harry wants to say something."

On his left side he could see Ginny focussing him and he felt very hot all of the sudden.

Harry again cleared his voice, louder this time, and got up from his seat with shaking legs.

"Umm", he began, "hi everybody, I'm very happy to see you. And...you know I'm not good at speeches and really this isn't supposed to be a speech"

He didn't know what to say, all eyes on him and he had not the slightest idea how to put his feelings in words-

"-Ginny", he almost coughed out, she turned up to him quickly as if something had fallen on her head.

"Ginny, I, this is a wonderful day", he said half to her, half to the rest of the table, "and with everyone being here, it's even better."

'_She'll think I'm crazy_,' he thought.

"You know I love you and I thank you for the past years, for your support and care and simply for being the person that you are. In the year I was on Horkrux hunt you have been my light at the end of the tunnel, the reason I went on searching, your love what has seen me through and when I stepped up against Voldemort for the last time my thoughts where with you, my faith and my strength was you and therefore-"

Harry's hand travelled down to his pockets and he meant to get the little box out, but couldn't manage to garb it with his sweaty palms.

"-before all our friends-", he nestled on when the box seemed to fall deeper into his jeans, "-and your family-", Ginny chuckled toneless and Harry finally put his fingers around the desired packet.

"-I ask you today-" he took it out and opened the top and Ginny's mouth dropped opened and she seemed to have forgotten how to breath.

"Will you marry me?" Harry said and silence hit the round like an earthquake. Everyone was holding their breaths and it was Ginny's turn to be stared at.

Her face was hard and motionless and Harry thought for a second she would really say 'no', as if to make him pay for all the time he had her waiting.

But then, very slowly, her features softened and a smile spread around her face.

"There's no way I'd be saying no", she whispered and got up from her seat.

Harry caught her eyes and they were slightly teary but confident and he knew he did just the right thing.

"And you knew it, didn't you?...", she said only for his ears.

As he pushed the ring softly onto her finger he knew, it didn't matter how young she was, they would be for the rest of their lives anyway.

The applause and congratulations that burst out from anyone weren't realized by Harry nor Ginny as they fell into each others arms.

Chapter Four

I Do

Harry Potter stepped from one foot to the other, feeling a tickling sensation all over his upper body, creeping into his throat and drowning him in hot excitement and nervousness. He checked his robes in the mirror, trying one more time to straighten his messy hair. They could at least look good at this day, if not on any other day. But he figured that he wouldn't live to see any day, where his hair would be slick and in order, like normal hair -unless he wouldn't go bold someday, he shuddered thinking that, he would rather have his fractious dark brown hair then no hair at all.

"That's beside the point", he said to himself, the point was everything had to be perfect, but his bow tie was lopsided, his hair was still there but as chaotic as always and his dress robes were crumbled from his constant running up and down Ron's tiny bedroom. He looked out of the roof-window down at the busy last-minute preparations on the greenish ground, that had been freed of pest plants and all magical creatures that had populated the burrow backyard anew since the last Weasley wedding that seemed a million years away.

Harry looked at his twenty-two year old self and wondered, what he would've thought if someone had told him at this last peaceful day in Summer five years ago, that he would really be marrying Ginny some fine day. He didn't know.

Seeing the rows of chairs being corrected and adjusted with two more rows, his body stiffened yet again.

"Harry?", a familiar voice accompanied the knocking at the door, "Can I come in quick?"

All Harry could manage to say was "Um...um"

The door was opened and the lanky build of Ronald Weasley entered, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry, I know you wanted some alone time, but Hermione is wondering if you want Dromeda and Teddy at our table or at Nevilles and Lunas."

"Why is she doing the setting now? We're starting in half an hour. Blimey, half an hour", Harry chuckled feeling his throat tighten.

"Well, your fiancee kept her pretty busy last night", squeaked Ron justifying.

"Why? She isn't getting cold feet, is she?", Harry asked alarmed.

"No, of course not, but it seems as though, you are, man, you're soaked in sweat", Ron said alarmed himself with a little idea of a threatening sound in his voice.

If Harry ever made his baby sister cry, Ron would probably leave Harry puking slugs until the end of his days.

"No", Harry mumbled, "It's just, I'm not sure wether I can make her happy. I still don't have a proper job and well, what if she notices someday, that I'm a lousy husband?"

"Mate, you know Ginny long enough to know, that she won't", Ron said and a second later noticed what he'd just said.

"I mean, you won't be lousy, I'm sure. See, Hermione still hasn't left me and I'm really not a picture of the best boyfriend", Ron added quickly.

"Well, you did get a real job to earn real money", Harry insisted childishly.

Ron had got a job at Gringgotts, where he supervised the inter magical relations, such as the various institutes for witches, houselves (who now got money for their work thanks to Hermione), trolls and so on. He always fussed about his promotion prospects and that someday Gringgotts would be called "Weasleys".

And with his first pay check he proposed to Hermione which had her completely satisfied. Since that day, she, who quit after a job offer at the ministries Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, was happy with everything Ron did, even if he played poker with houselves, she would say it's fine, because he treated them like equals.

But Harry wouldn't say that to him, seeing as Ron was his only confident at the very moment.

"Come on, mate, get ready, she loves you, this will be a great wedding, you got all your friends, the sun is shining, it's the perfect day", Ron said, leaving Harry with his jumping heart again.

"Teddy and 'Dromeda sit with us", he yelled after the red-head that disappeared behind the door.

Ron was right after all; it was a great day, and everybody he cared about had took on the trip to the burrow, which, in some cases was long.

Neville and Luna had come two days early, Hagrid arrived earlier in the morning, Headmistress of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagal had just come to the burrow, the whole Weasley family was there of course with the newest arrival Dominique Weasley, the new born girl and second daughter of Bill and Fleur.

The remaining members of the order were invited and almost everyone he knew from back at Hogwarts; Seamus, Dean, Lavender, the Patil twins, Cho and almost all teachers.

Harry made his shaky legs walk down the stairs -past Ginny's room, which was looked from inside and probably stuffed with all female family members, nestling around her dress and her hair and leaving poor Ginny absolutely stressed out.

He smiled, imagining her resigning sigh, giving in to Fleur's attempts to straighten her hair, while Hermione was doing her best to fix the huge white dress at the back.

Harry hadn't got a clue if Ginny would wear a huge white dress, but apparently that was what brides wore, didn't they?

When he reached the door leading into the populated garden and Ron who stood in the doorway carrying baby Dominique, Kingsley Shaklebolt unexpectedly walked towards the two young men quick stepped and confident, shaking hands and congratulating Harry.

"Harry, Ron, I have a plea to make to you both", he started promptly with his dark silk voice and left Harry breathless with a short shock, being faced with that bear of a man out of nowhere.

"I hoped to finally offer you a profession as aurors, since we reformed and cleared the ministry of any leftovers of the war as the old Mr Weasley was so eager about ... and honestly speaking, I personally whish to have you on board. Think about it, will you?"

The minister of magic paced away from them as quickly as he had approached them, as they could only look at each other.

Ron had almost dropped the baby and now held on to the little package as if the little girl could be any help, taming the roaring beast named pride that came to life somewhere in the area around his rips.

"You want to be an auror?", Harry asked, really not needing an answer from the stunned Ron, for his best friend, being offered to be an auror was the greatest proof of his talents and integrity. Even if had hated the idea of being an being an Auror, he would've agreed to do it, just because _he_, Ronald Weasley was wanted to do it.

Harry himself felt that after all, that was, what he wanted to do and since Ginny had refrained from her idea of becoming one, she being taken to the Quidditch team of the Hollyhead Harpies, he was free to do it.

But thinking, that now maybe wasn't the best time to finally start thinking about his future, Harry broke apart from stone stiff Ron who still watched Shaklebolts back drowning in the crowd with his open-mouthed features, that showed absolute disbelief.

As Harry walked down the aisle alone, with people starting to settle in the rows, he imagined how it would feel, watching Ginny coming down this way towards him; radiant and gracefully as always.

The butterflies in his stomach started their happy dance once again and he felt as if some of them had missed their route and flew right into his throat to dry it completely.

He was scared, that his voice was to weak to say "I do", really he was scared of the whole procedure still. After all, he had never gotten married before.

It was almost too quiet to catch, but something inside him said, he wasn't worth it, that he didn't deserve to be happy at all.

In the end, what had he done? Beat Voldemort, yes. Saved mankind, maybe. Saved all of his friends...no, he didn't. Got his life right? Another definite 'no'.

He was just a stupid boy and he was nothing without her love and care.

And just then he figured it out all right.

He wasn't getting cold feet, he was far away from that -he was only scared to loose Ginny for some silly reason like, let's say; getting cold feet.

Because she had become his life within the past few years.

He couldn't survive without her, she ultimately was his reason to live.

And even if he married her at this day, it still couldn't guarantee him, he wasn't going to loose her someday, like all the others he had loved and lost along the way.

Painful images struck him, as he came to stand in front of the richly decorated bridal arch, where he and Ginny would be saying their vows in about twenty minuets.

Images of his parents and Sirius and Dumbledore -even Snape, whom all he wished to be there in this very moment. He wanted them to assure him everything would be going well, to tell him, there wouldn't be any kind of battle again and no danger whatsoever that could thread his loved ones and that he wasn't going to mess this up.

He wanted his father to stand behind him so badly, when he was putting the ring on her finger. Pain wrenched at his insides as he pictured his Dad's proud face and his mothers teary eyes; her son was getting married, he had found the perfect girl -the one others spent lifetimes searching for.

But they wouldn't be there, not his parents, not Fred, not Dumbledore. And they also wouldn't tell him, that everything was going to be alright.

As if his thoughts where audible to the tall and slander grey-haired woman that came up to him, she layed her thin cold hand consoling on his shoulder.

"Mr Potter", said the woman and made Harry turn around to see the aged face of Professor McGonagal with her line-shaped smiling mouth.

"I'm here to send you Dumbledore's and Severus' warm greetings to your wedding today." Harry knew she wasn't talking about the real Dumbledore and Snape, she meant the portraits of passed headmasters in her tower-office at Hogwarts, where Harry had once spent numerous hours of learning defence against the dark arts by professor Dumbledore and Remus Lupin.

After a pause she added in a lower voice: "Be sure, your family is with you today, Potter", and then while turning away from him, facing him for a short moment, "I'm very proud of you"

Harry stood on the spot and looked after the old lady who's features hadn't lost anything of the natural authority but gained some wisdom during the years as headmistress of Hogwarts.

Her words had helped him more, then he could've imagined.

Sure his family would be there. They had been there when he fought evil, so they would be there when he fought tears of joy. He believed this with all of his heart, believed it so intensely that it made his feet stop tapping the ground underneath him.

He breathed in deeply and blinked several times into the sun.

There where some sheep clouds but apart from that, the weather was brilliant and as the sun shone warm on his cheeks, Harry looked over the now almost filled rows, into many familiar faces and to his surprise into the little squeezed pig eyes of Dudley Dursley.

At first he thought, his senses were playing tricks on him, but after blinking again and rubbing his eyes, they were still there; Dudley, Uncle Vernon and his aunt Petunia Dursley. Sitting next to Luna Lovegood whom Uncle Vernon tried to ignore the hardest and sit the furthest away from, which wasn't easy, seeing that his round waste still touched Luna's chair, although he was almost sitting on Petunias lap already.

Utterly touched by their unheralded appearance, Harry figured it was time to make peace with his fear and give in to his destiny.

He would marry Ginny, who was probably getting off her bedroom now, dressed up and her face painted with kohl and lipstick.

He thought about what she was going to wear, but barely spent two seconds doing so until he saw Molly Weasley with a proud-swollen chest walking out of the house, producing a swirl of sparks out of her wand to signal the guests to take their seats.

Every bit of thought was simultaneously swept out of Harry's mind, as people swept into the rows and Ron and Neville, the best men, stepped behind the groom.

Harry watched Molly sit down on the chair next to Bill and Fleur, grinning beamy and exited.

Down the aisle now came Luna and Hermione dressed in light green dresses that went down to their knees and where held by glittery flower chains that seemed to be glued to their necks. In this outfit, even Luna looked strangely normal.

As the two of them reached the spot in front of the arch, Harry caught a barely audible sigh of Ron, who seemed to like Hermione's dress and curled up hair-do too.

Then the boy who lived caught the first glimpse of his bride to be.

As Ginny walked out of the door, four year old Victoire Weasley, first daughter of Bill and Fleur, chuckling and clumsy threw flowers on the ground before her and her father led her down the aisle.

The spectators were now standing up from their seats to all have a better sight at the most beautiful woman of the day and there was an echo of "Oh"'s and "How beautiful"s all over the Weasley yard. And it was so true.

Ginny wore a huge white dress, as Harry had suspected; the Weasley's hadn't been saving money on that one, he figured.

The dress was shoulderless and the upper part was covered in pearls and sparkling stones and the skirt was round and voluminous and went all the way to her white high heels. Her fiery red hair loosely held together by clips, with curls falling softly over her creamy shoulders, was topped by a little diadem.

She looked marvellous and that with almost no make-up on as usually.

Harry's heart did a few jumps and he felt goosebumps all over his body and he just couldn't help the stupid smile that spread across his face.

She was so beautiful and she was his alone.

The half-giant Hagrid played a wonderful piece on his flute as Ginny finally stepped up to Harry and looked him playfully in the eye. Her little typical cute smile played around her lips and she came to stand right next to him.

The sloppy young man took the hand of the red-head and squeezed it once before he let it go and turned to the minister of magic, who was hosting the ceremony personally.

Harry, to his surprise, went through the procedure without being weepy, he was too dully happy to cry at all.

Only when Ginny was saying her vow, his eyes got a little teary, as her words resounded inside his head.

"Harry, I've loved you ever since I've seen you the first time. You saved my life in every way possible. You're heroic, you're brave, you're strong. Everything a girl could wish for, but more than this; you're funny and kind and sweet and I could have never imagined our relationship anything greater than it turned out. I hereby give you my soul, my life, my past, my future, my thoughts, my wishes, my dreams, my body. I'm all yours. Through the good and through the bad times, in health and illness, 'till death do us part, I love you, Harry James Potter"

When it was his turn to speak to his fiancee, tears were finally filling his eyes, slowly running down his reddened cheeks.

"Ginny, you're my life. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. Facing death, the last thing I saw was you, you kept me going, always. You are the best person I know and there can be no man happier or more proud to be allowed to make you my wife today. I hereby give you my soul, my life, my past, my future, my thoughts, my wishes, my dreams, my body. I'm all your's. Do with me whatever you please. Through good and bad times, in health and sickness, 'till death do us part, I love you Ginevra Molly Weasley"

Ginny hadn't shed a tear, she wasn't too sentimental, had never been, yet her eyes sparkled with happiness and deeper love than Harry had ever seen anybody look at someone or something.

Kingsley Shaklebolt put Ginny's little hand in Harry's and made their marriage official.

"Harry and Ginny, I now pronounce you husband and wife, Mr and Mrs Potter, you may kiss your beloved now", he said smiling warmly.

As they kissed, applause rose up from the rows of the guests and everyone was cheering as the newlyweds walked down the aisle.

Harry led his wife back into the house, up to her bedroom and rapidly closed the door.

Downstairs, it was getting noisier as the family was taking out the food and drinks for the party, but neither Harry nor Ginny noticed any of it.

She just looked up to him and grinned.

"Done", she gasped.

"Yeah...blimey. That was quiet something. Have you seen the Dursley's?"

"Yes, tough luck, I asked them to come", Ginny made a triumphant face, seeing Harry's true surprise.

"Why?", he asked.

"I wanted them here, after all they're family and they brought you up and you turned up really nice, so..."

"But I didn't turn out so really nice because of them. You raised me up more then they did" He took the petite woman into his embrace, felt her warm chest pressed against his and sighed.

"But I thought you'd be -in a very strange way- happy to see them", she muttered spitefully.

"I was", he answered, comforting her, "I really was, I just wouldn't have thought that you, by any chance, known that before I did"

"Well, that's what I'm here for; knowing how you will feel before you know it yourself", she said, nestling up against him.

"Yeah, wifey...", they both laughed and Ginny patted his back in simulated disapproval as if saying 'you wish'.

Through the glass of the windows fell the first red shades of dawn and as the couple broke apart, Ginny looked happy but tired and Harry no less.

"Let's not have them all waiting much longer or you're mother might as well kill us already", Harry said, walking towards the door.

"Harry", Ginny said from behind him, "thank you for this wonderful day"

"Thanks for letting me marry you, Gin", he smiled wryly.

On their way back into the garden, they passed Percy Weasley, who congratulated bluntly and turned to take out the shrimps salad.

When they stepped out to the backyard, they were welcomed with a shower of white rice and various words of congratulations and before one of them knew it, they were drawn into different corners, receiving hugs and best wishes.

The first to turn to Harry were Dean and Seamus, Lavender and the Patil twins, who wore their nicest pink saris.

"Congrats', man", said Dean and shook his hand, followed by Seamus who did the same, Lavender chuckled and gave him a firm hug and the Patils gave him each a kiss on one cheek.

"You were looking good up there, you both", Parvati said.

"I always thought you made a very cute couple", Padma agreed her sisters cheer.

"Thanks", Harry said curtly but sincerely happy.

There were many more people that wanted to show their approval and in between small talk and wet cheek-kisses of elderly witches, Harry caught Ginny's eye and grinned over to her.

She gave him a short blink and tiny wave and he felt as if he had just saw her for the first time

and yet again fell for her completely.

Before he finally reached his table, he shook the hands of almost all the Hogwarts staff, all his old classmates, numerous ministry workers he didn't really know, Hagrid, who almost crippled him, holding on to his hand very forcefully.

Ginny was already sitting next to her mother, but before Harry could sit down he had some people left to talk to.

The Dursleys still looked bewildered as they were sitting quiet uncomfortably on a table with Professor Trelawny and Hagrid, although Dudley seemed to have found deeper interest in one of Ginny's teammates of the "Hollyhead Harpies", with whom he was chatting politely.

Vernon and Petunia were getting up from their seats, when Harry came up to them and they smiled. It looked a bit forced but not in a harsh way, more in a way that said how they were trying to show him, that they meant no harm.

"Congratulations, boy", Vernon said after a few moments and looked at Petunia as if he wanted her to continue.

"Ah, well", she stuttered, "it was a very nice ceremony, not crazy at all...yes. And your wife, she's quiet a catch, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is", Harry squealed inside about her attempt to be nice.

"Now, Harry", Petunia said as softly as she could manage with her squeaky high voice,

"we also came to apologize. We didn't treat you so good when you were living with us and apparently you did save us all, so...I guess what I'm trying to say is...sorry, Harry."

She sounded like a fourth grader apologizing for breaking someone's toy.

"It's okay. No hard feelings.", Harry said and really meant it.

The Dursley's were a part of his past. A long gone past, he had almost forgotten.

When he finally got to sit down at the family table, there were Molly, Arthur, Ron, Hermione, Bill, Fleur, Victoire, Dominique, Percy and his new girlfriend Whitney, who was American, George with his fiancee Angelina Johnson and Charlie Weasley, Andromeda and five-year-old Teddy Lupin, Harry's godson, and of course Ginny.

Later, after a lot of chattering and a lot of eating, the now married couple was escorted to the fire place inside the house by Molly, Arthur and Ron and Hermione.

Ginny had already packed three suitcases for the honeymoon and Harry couldn't really wait to escape from the loud scenery and be alone with his wife.

He was thankful for the wonderful day, but it had been a long one and he was more then ready for it to get a little quieter and a little more private.

Harry and Ginny both had changed into regular clothes and looked a little displaced next to the dressed up family, when Molly and Arthur took their little daughter in a long embrace at once.

"Oh, they grow up so fast...", she was sobbing again, "Harry, Ginny, you enjoy your holiday and when you come back, Number 12 will be more then ready for the new family, right? Now go on, get going you newlyweds"

Hermione hugged Ginny and whispered something Harry couldn't catch because Ron was pushing him aside: "You're okay now, mate?"

"More than this", Harry hugged his best friend, "after Ginny has moved in with me at Grimmauld Place, you two are going to visit us right away, aren't you?"

Ron nodded confirmingly and Harry turned to Hermione who gave him a tight and long hug.

"I'm so proud of you", she whispered, "I just don't know how Ron and I are going to top this wedding of yours"

"Oh, you're not gonna top it, this can't be outdone with anything", Ginny grinned jokingly and pulled Harry's arm.

"Come on, let's get going, I don't wanna be too tired for my wedding night", she said quietly to Harry and after a few last words of goodbye they took the flew powder and disappeared in greenish sparks.

In a beautiful beach house at a french coast a young couple stepped out of a fire place and let their baggage drop.

And as the young red-haired woman started to whistle "Like A Virgin", Mr and Mrs Potter were just about to celebrate their future to come.


End file.
